A contact apparatus for heat and mass transfer operations that require extended service life considerations and/or frequent cleaning to maintain operability.
Various devices exist to facilitate simultaneous heat and mass transfer operations between two or more fluids, the most common application being the heating of clean water using dry steam while providing for quiet operation. Most of these devices are unsuitable for applications in the chemical and refining industries, which often involve viscous liquids, high solids loadings, erosive materials, or wet/dirty vapor streams.
In such xe2x80x9csevere applications,xe2x80x9d clogging of tight internal passages often is quick and complete. Failure of internal components related to impingement damage or erosion is not uncommon. In xe2x80x9csevere applications,xe2x80x9d downtime for maintenance is not normally available without great cost due to lost production potential and the inherent safety/environmental risks associated with startups or shutdowns. A need exists for a direct injection contacting apparatus of durable construction that will function reliably in severe applications and will continuously operate over an extended lifetime with minimal maintenance.
An apparatus for directly contacting a first fluid with a second fluid, said apparatus comprising; a sealed chamber assembly comprising a chamber wall defining a chamber bore having a chamber bore diameter and a chamber longitudinal axis, said chamber wall comprising an injection port, said injection port being in fluid communication with said second fluid; a combining tube comprising a combining tube wall defining a combining tube bore having a combining tube bore diameter that is less than said chamber bore diameter and having a combining tube longitudinal axis which is substantially the same as said chamber longitudinal axis, said combining tube bore comprising an upstream port and a downstream port in fluid communication with said first fluid, said chamber wall and said combining tube wall defining an annular space therebetween; said combining tube wall comprising an upstream set of perforations adjacent to said upstream port, a downstream set of perforations adjacent to said downstream port, and an unperforated section between said upstream set of perforations and said downstream set of perforations, said unperforated section being adjacent to said injection port; said injection port being adapted to prevent said second fluid from directly impinging said combining tube wall; said sealed chamber assembly and said perforations being adapted to produce a turbulent flow of said first fluid and said second fluid within said combining tube bore upon injection of said second fluid through said injection port, said turbulent flow being consistent with non-fouling operation of said apparatus.